Palestinian officials condemned the decision by Moldova to move its embassy headquarters to Jerusalem, noting that this action is a “flagrant violation” of international law, writes Aljazeera.

The Palestinian Foreign Minister condemned the decision taken by the Filip Government on June 11 to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“The decision is a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy and the UN resolutions, ” the Palestinian minister said.

In a message posted on Twitter, Pavel Filip states that this decision represents a commitment “to support our allies.”

In this context, the Palestinian Foreign Minister states that Filip “taking advantage of the political uncertainty in his country to gain support from the US and Israel.”

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), called on the European Union to take immediate action against Moldova for ignoring the EU’s consensus on the Middle East conflict.

” The European Union should halt Moldova’s political and economic integration until the latter rescinds its illegal and provocative action and realigns its policy with international law and the collective EU position on the Palestinian issue,” said Hanan Ashrawi.

Jerusalem is currently at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and subsequently annexed the territory, an action that was not recognized by the international community. Palestinians request East Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state, while Israel claims the city as their capital. Israel has tried to convince various nations to transfer their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Up to this date, the US and Guatemala have moved their embassies. Thus, Moldova would become the first European country to transfer the embassy to Jerusalem if it makes this move.

On June 11, the Filip Government, holding a closed meeting, has decided to transfer the location of the Moldovan Embassy from the capital of Israel,Tel Aviv to the city of Jerusalem. 

Photo: theweek.co.uk